Chapter 63: Occurence of dropouts

Pshh!

The man, who had confidently believed he would certainly win, was certain the moment he heard the gunshot.

‘I blocked it.’

He had heard rumors that Lee Hyun-seung had stopped an Epic-class Berserker’s rampage recently. Some even

claimed to have seen it firsthand. But at the time, Pyo Na-gil hadn’t been there, so he didn’t believe it.

‘Bullsht… what kind of nonsense is that? Everyone’s gone crazy.’*

Pyo Na-gil had worked alongside Lee Hyun-seung in A-class for several months. It was undeniable that Lee Hyun-

seung’s written skills were exceptional, but his practical exam scores were abysmally low. Could he even beat a

middle schooler? And yet, within a few months, the man who couldn’t even manage to pass practical exams had

overpowered an Epic-class Berserker?

‘He must have used an artifact.’

It seemed only logical that Lee Hyun-seung had used a high-value artifact, cleverly avoiding people’s notice. After all,

there were rumors that Lee Hyun-seung had connections with Jeong Eun-seo, the daughter of the Guild Master of Te

Or, and Tak Woo-hyun, the head of the Blacksmiths’ Association.

So, Pyo Na-gil had ignored it.

Lee Hyun-seung’s physical power. A Gunslinger was, after all, never a particularly strong class. A bullet couldn’t

possibly penetrate the mana contained in a fighter’s body.

A spear that couldn’t pierce, a sword that couldn’t cut, were nothing more than rusted trash. Or so he thought…

Bang!

The moment Lee Hyun-seung fired the bullet, Pyo Na-gil quickly channeled mana into his body. It was to defend

against the bullet. As he directed the mana, he thought, Once I deflect the bullet, I’ll rush in and slam this cocky

bastard’s head into the ground.

Not long ago, Lee Hyun-seung, a lower-tier student in A-class, had been the one who couldn’t even speak properly.

And now, during the class annihilation event, he was provoking others by firing his gun into the air. He had vowed to

make Lee Hyun-seung pay for it. But…

Pshh!

Rrrrr

Something was wrong. There should have been the usual sound of the bullet deflecting, but instead, there was an

unpleasant noise. It felt as if a heavy piece of iron had been driven into a chunk of meat. The place where the iron

had struck felt warm and sticky, with blood flowing out of the wound.

Swish

Pyo Na-gil, with a look of disbelief, glanced at his shoulder.

“Sht… sht! Aaaah!”

When he looked at his shoulder, a gruesome hole had formed. His arm hadn’t fallen off, but the bone and tissues in

the shoulder had been completely torn apart. He hadn’t realized the severity of it when he hadn’t seen it, but now,

seeing it with his own eyes, excruciating pain began flooding in.

Thud!

Pyo Na-gil collapsed to the ground, clutching his shoulder.

“Ughhh… Aaaahhh!”

Tears streamed down his face as he gripped his arm. Inside the stage, the level of pain felt by the participants was

somewhat adjusted, but it wasn’t like the pain could be completely suppressed. If the pain was at a level of 100,

they’d still feel around 20–30% of it.

The pain Pyo Na-gil was experiencing, even at only 20–30%, was enough to make him weep uncontrollably and

collapse to the floor.

The people around him fell silent. Those who had been rushing toward Lee Hyun-seung also stopped in their tracks.

“W-what… is that…?”

Yoo Hee-yeon was about to ask what kind of insane power that was. But when she saw everyone else’s expressions,

she knew they were all thinking the same thing, so she didn’t finish her sentence.

Shhh…

The smoke was rising from the barrel of Lee Hyun-seung’s gun.

From a distance, Jo Eun-bi, a member of Class A, locked eyes with him. However, Lee Hyun-seung quickly furrowed

his brow and turned his head away.

‘Huh…?’

Jo Eun-bi stared at him, feeling a pang in her chest. He had been the man she admired. A passionate scholar of

magic, he had been a person who shone brighter than anyone else. He found happiness in the smallest things.

But the expression on Lee Hyun-seung’s face now was so cold and indifferent that it was impossible to recall the

innocent and kind-hearted young man of the past. The man she had known no longer existed. She couldn’t fully

comprehend how much he had been hurt, but one thing was certain: he seemed to be drifting too far away to ever

return to how he was.

She wanted to speak to him, but she didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t been able to say anything when he had been

wrongfully accused, and she hadn’t stood by him. When other students had tried to hide and cover up the

information about the written exam, it was Lee Hyun-seung who had freely given it away, without expecting

anything in return. How much pain must he have felt knowing that even the one person he was closest to in class had

betrayed him? She didn’t know.

• Swoosh

Lee Hyun-seung casually ignored Jo Eun-bi’s gaze and raised his gun, aiming it directly at the head of Byeo Na-gil.

Trembling in fear, Byeo Na-gil mumbled, “N-no… please… someone help me!”

He cried out, drooling, but before he could even finish his plea, Lee Hyun-seung pulled the trigger in less than a

second. Although there were many who could have helped, they stood frozen in place, unable to move. And then—

• Bang!
• Thud

Byeo Na-gil collapsed to the ground after being shot. Blood flowed from his body, and after a brief moment, a white

light began to flicker around him, teleporting him outside the stage.

[The first elimination has occurred.]

A cold, mechanical voice echoed through the arena.

“Hoo…”

From a distance, Tak Woo-hyun, watching the scene, had a slightly satisfied expression on his face. The reason for

his reaction was clear: he had just witnessed one of the members of Class A be decisively eliminated.

‘Yoo Hee-yeon, your expression is quite something.’

Tak Woo-hyun’s feelings of intense hostility toward Yoo Hee-yeon had only grown. He recalled something Yoo Hee-

yeon had said to him in the past.

• “Are you short on money? I’ll pay you three times. No, ten times what you’re asking. This should be enough, right? Just tell my father to transfer the money. As for the weapon, I’ll have it placed in the Artemis Guild’s storage.”
• Clack

How dare she put a price on the weapon he had painstakingly forged with all his skill and pride, only to suggest it be

thrown into a storage room as though it were worthless. It had been a humiliation—a total disregard for the pride he

held as a craftsman. However, despite this, Tak Woo-hyun had not taken any action.

‘Artemis Guild…’

The reason he hadn’t acted was because Yoo Hee-yeon was the daughter of the Artemis Guild’s leader.

As the head of the Blacksmiths’ Association, Tak Woo-hyun had the power to influence the supplies and prices for

the Artemis Guild’s upcoming expeditions. If he wielded his influence, he could deal a significant blow to the Artemis

Guild’s finances and resources.

Tak Woo-hyun wasn’t entirely in a position of weakness, but he wasn’t in a dominant one either. As the head of the

Blacksmiths’ Association, once he started imposing restrictions on supplies or making unreasonable price hikes

against the Artemis Guild, he had to be prepared for a direct confrontation with them. If he sought revenge, it had to

be subtle—either limiting the quality or modestly raising prices in line with inflation—nothing too blatant. While that

would still be a significant blow, it wouldn’t be satisfying enough.

‘Still… choosing Lee Hyun-seung was the right decision.’

Seeing Lee Hyun-seung dismantling Yoo Hee-yeon’s class in real-time brought him a sense of vicarious satisfaction.

Yoo Hee-yeon had arrogantly insulted the pride of a craftsman, and Tak Woo-hyun wished for even greater despair

to strike her. With a satisfied expression, he looked up at the screen showing the stage.

• Whoosh!

Byeon Na-gil was forcibly teleported out of the stage. Having taken such significant damage, he was eliminated and

moved out for safety.

No one had expected this. After all, who would have predicted that a Class A member would be eliminated by a lone

Class F participant?

A brief silence followed.

Breaking the silence was Lee Hyun-seung.

“You were searching like crazy earlier, but now you’re scared to watch?”

Lee Hyun-seung’s blunt provocation made Yoo Hee-yeon grit her teeth and scream.

“Take that arrogant person down right now! Don’t be afraid of some stupid gun! If you don’t act…!”

With a cold, venomous expression, Yoo Hee-yeon spoke icily.

“You won’t make it out alive either.”

As soon as her words were heard, the Class A members, seemingly enchanted, began to charge forward. Then—

Click!

Lee Hyun-seung, as if waiting for this moment, quickly swapped his bullet and fired.

• Flinch!

The charging members hesitated for a moment, but the gun’s muzzle wasn’t aimed at them. It was aimed at the ground.

• Bang!

The gunshot echoed, and as the bullet struck the ground, an unpleasant white smoke erupted, spreading wildly.